Method and apparatus for making button blanks



M. PLATT METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUTTON BLANKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Feb. 3, 1931. 1,790,946

Filed Nov. 1926 ATTORNEY Feb; 3, 1931. -r

METHOD AND. APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUTTO N BLANKS Filed Nov. 26, 1926 4Sheets-Sheet 3 ebls, 1931. 1 M. PLATT 1,790,946

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUTTON BLANKS Filed Nov. 26, 1926 4Sheets$heet 4 f? I/Q ATTORNEYS.

Reunion PLATT, or .oemnnmfunvf JERSEY;

Assess s 'To' PEERLESS PEARL oomrm, or cemnnmnnwannsnv, a conronnirronon NEW JERSEY mnrrron m nrimws r031 ii'nnmeinurrron BLANKS' Applicationmed November 265- 6; "ser'iai no} isojeee.

This invention has relation .to a new and useful method and-apparatusfor cutting .or

dividing pearl stock into blanks or (llSCS,-21I1Cl it=relates moreparticularly to the :novel man-f ner and apparatusfor automatically and-5 economically producing button blanks from pearlsstock sor :mother ofpearl, for the manufacture-of buttons and the like. i illhis inventionfurther relates toanovel apparatus whereby :a large numberof buttonblanks :may be produced simultaneouslyand whereby the uniform thicknessof suchg blanks ;;may be accurately gauged andspre determined.

- This invention be produced, having their opposed'faces pa-rallel toeach other and perpendicular to the periphery thereof, and of a'thickness closely approximating the desired thickness of the finishedbutton, thus greatly reducing the work and time otherwise consumed inthe finishing and backing operations and there by effecting a greatsaving lIllllII18,-lil-b0l, and

material.

The leading object of the present-invention may 'be said to reside inthe provision of a new and novel method of blank formation which maybepracticed more efiiciently 'and more economically than heretoforeaccomplished.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision ofnew, novel and zippreciably simplified mechanism for attaining theetiiciency and economy above referred to.

Other and further objects of the present invention reside in theprovision of the novel arrangement, construction, and combination ofparts for attaining the results sought in the foregoing objects.

. Another object of the present invention is to provide novel apparatusfor severing pearl stock into button blanks, whereby a great number ofsuch pearl stock is firmly gripped in position with respect to aplurality of regulated, automatic cutting means, thus producing a plurality'of such blanks in one operation and at minimum cost.

nether object of the present invention is further relates to a novelapparatus whereby button bla-nksgmay toprovidenovel apparatus forcutting parallel faced button :blanks' from pearl stock, and producing,moreover, button blanks of a-a'elatively *small thickness and varyingthe thickness of such blanks at will.

Other and iurther objects of the present invention "will I be moreapparent from the i followingdescription and the accompanying drawings,formin-g part hereof, and in wllich zna-xn x ..i i

igi1re l represents a view in side elevation ofzapp'aratus formattingpearl stock,embedy in%the invention. I

i=- igure' -Q represents a top or plan view ofl the -same'w fliig-rrrefia-iepresents a perspective View of the chuck holder in 'detachedposition.

=Fci gure 3 represents an end \"lBW looking towards'the left hand sideor" Figure 1. Y

.l igure i, represents an end View of the rightihand sicleioit Figure 1.

:LFi-gure 5, represents a vertical sectional viewhvkenmpon the line 55of Figure 2, certainof the parts being shown in elevation.

Figure 6,-representsa view in side elevation'sof th'e: shaftactuatingthe cutters and .the chuck holder, the gears and :bearingstherefor beingshown in section. 3

Figure "T represents a sectional View taken upon the line-77 of Figure2, and showing, upon a n' -e n'larged scale, the chuck holder seen insection inthe toppert of Figure 5.

.igu'rela,represents a -perspective view of the cam :shaft around whichthe chuck holder-revolves.-

:Figure 8, represents a view in elevation hereinafter referred .to. v

Figurel-9, represents a top or plan view of Figure' S.

. Figure 10, represents a vertical sectional view of the upper portionof thechuck and its jaws.

Figure 11, represents a perspectiveview of-one-of the chuck jaws seen inFigures 7, 8, 9,-:and '10, in -detached position.

Figure 12, represents a perspective view of a piece of the pearl stockto be-severed.

Having now generally stated the nature and objects of the presentinvention, it may be proper to at this time state that the presentinvention, generally and broadly stated, comprises a housing, suitablyanchored to a stationary base, a plurality of power driven cutterscarried by a laterally movable slide on said housing, means foraccurately adjusting said cutting means with-respect to the pearl stockto becut, means forspacing said cutters with respect to each other todeterm ne the thickness of the blanks to be produced, means-forshielding said cutters, a

plurality of power driven rotary gripping elements mounted on saidhousing in fixed operative relation to said cutters, and adapted to gripthe pearl stock-while the same is being cut, and means intermediate saidoutfollowing description taken in connection.

pearl stock into button blanks, the same com-- ters and said pearl stockfor accurately aligning said cutters during the cutting operations.Other elements of my novel apparatus will be described more in. detailin the with the accompanying drawings:

Referring to the drawings, in which hke reference characters indicatelike parts, 1 designates,my .novel apparatus for severing prising ahollow, tapering standard or hous- 1ng,2,1supported.;upon the fiat base.3, the

standard being provided with -the= upp er. flange 4 upon which the upperportion of ;-,the apparatus proper is bolted orotherwise secured. Thereference numeral 5 designates the main driving .shaft to which power isapplied by the tight pulley 6, the pulley 7 being loose, power beingtransmitted from said main shaft am the shaft 8 bybelt 9,

which latter passes around the pulleys l0 and- 11. The shaft 8 ismounted inthe pendant bearings or brackets 12 and 13 and carries thepinion 14, meshing with gear wheel 15,

.vhichlatter is loose on the shaft 16, as' is the pinion 17, which isintegral with or fas tened to the gear 15. The pinion l7 meshes with thegear wheel 18, the latter being"- mounted on shaft 19 which shaftcarries the ,pinion 2O which-in turn meshes with gear wheelv 21 fastenedon shaft 16. Shaft 16 is. mounted in'the bearings 19m, 20m, and 21%,

which is apparent from an inspectionof igs.

5 and 6, and at its right hand end carries'the cam member 22 which 1sprovided with a;

cam groove 23, whose inner walls engage the roller 24 carried on the pin25, which roller issecured to the slide 26, which latter slides in theways 2?, as will be understood from an ,inspection ;of F ig. 4. Theupper slide 28,

mounted on the slide 26, (see Fig. 4), carries the shaft 29 having thepulley 30 to which power is applied by a separate belt 31 shown indotted lines in Fig. 1. On the shaft 29 00 I mount the cutters 32,arranged in groups-of understood from Figure 2.

In practice six groups of cutters are employed, four cutters or bladesto a group, as will be understood from Figure 2, the number of suchgroups of cutters or blades in each group being increased or diminishedat will -fl he cutters 32 are preferably ofthin, carborundum dises'andthey are protected by the guard 35, as will be understood from Fig.

5. As it is essential that provision be made for the adjusting positionof the" cutters 32 carried: thereby, are moved towards or away from thepearlstockto be cut, thus effecting a very fine and accurateadjustmentof the d1's tanee betweensaid cutters and pearl stock to be cut. Thereference numeral 40 designates a vertically. disposed-slotted guideplate through which plate the CZLIbOIlIII dIlHI discs or cutters 32project, whereby thelatter are more accurately aligned-as they moveinwardly towards the, pearlstock to be severed.

.Referringnow specifically tolligures 1 and 2, it will'be seen that theloose gear 15 previously referred to is in mesh with the pinion 41carried by the shaft 42 which is mounted in suitable bearings andwhichhas on its inner end theiworm 43 which engages the underside of thepinion 44. On the inner end of the shaft 45 is fixed the disc 46 whichcarries the roller 47 which engages the radially disposed slots 48 thedisc 49, the construction of which will be understood from Figures 1 and2a. 49 designates the chuck holder and its adjuncts hereinafterdescribed, which. revolves freely about the stationary shaft 50, theouter ends ofwhich are cylindrical and the intermediatepertion of whichis eccentric or cam shaped, as indicated at 51, as will be seen fromFig. 7a. The cvlindrical ends of the station .baft 50 are mounted insuitable bearings i i, one of which is shown in Fig. 1. Still referringto Figs. 1 and 2, the generally cylindrical chuck holder 49 carries thechuck arranged thereon in longitudinal, horizontal rowsparallel to eachother and pcrpemlicnlar to the periphery of said disc. In the preferredembodiment of my lllVOllLlOll, shown particularly in Figs. 2a. 5, and 7,I employ four such rows of chucks 55 disposed at right angles to eachother. said chuck holder 49 and its adj uncts, being adapted to revolveas a unit about the stationary, elliptical cam shaft 50. in a mannerhereinafter described. Each chuck 55, partly enclosed in the frame 61,comprises the chuck ill-I) stem-62,1 the solid inner end of whichvpassesis held in position, within the housing 61, by

the coil spring 66, the inner end of which secured thereto, by thethreaded nut 67, while the outer end of said spring 66, bears againstthe inner surface of l the flange of closure 68 on the outer end of said.housing 61. The prongs 65 outwardly flare near the outer extremitythereof to form the inwardly tagering portions 69, which are adapted totightly seat in the wedge opening 70, in the flange or closure 68 ofsaid housing 61 when the stem 62 is urged inwardly by the force of thecoil spring 66, on said stem 62, as will be described more indetailhercinafter. The tapering portions 69 terminate in the blocks orheads 71, in each of which is adapted to be rigidly and detachablysecure-c a jaw member 72, by means of the screw 74, passing through thebase portion 73, of said jaw 72, on which is arranged the inwardlycurved or concave row of teeth 76 (see Fig. 11) spaced from each other asuitable distance, as at 77. The chuck holder 49 carrying the rows ofchucks 55, is revolved around the stationary shaft 51 by means' of theroller 47, which engages the radial slots 48 in the outer face of saidchuck holder 49. The roller 47 in turn is carried by the disc 46,.whichis fast on the shaft 45 and which is revolved in a counter clockwisedirection by means of the pinion 44 in mesh with the worm gear 43 on theshaft 42, which in turn is revolved or actuated by the pinion 41 whichmeshes with the loose gear wheel 15 on the shaft 16, said shaft 16 beingsupplied with power by the lclt 9 in the manner already described.

In carrying out my invention, 1 place pearl stock 78 on the board orfeed table 78, from which pearl stock 7 8 is fed to the jaws 7 2 of achuck when said chuck is in the vertical position indicated by A in Fig.7. In this position a chuck is in its outermost position, since theinner end 63 of the chuck stem 62 bears against the raised orcylindrical surface of the shaft 50, thus forcing the portions 69 outfrom the said opening against the force of the coil spring 66 and thusmaintaining the jaws 72 on the outermost extremity of said chuck 55 inopen or nongripping position, thus facilitating the feeding thereto ofpearl stock to be severed, as will be understood from Fig. 7. When thechuck holder 49, carrying the chucks 55, is revolved in a clockwisedirection by the action of the roller 47, engaging the radial slot 48 inthe face thereof, the inner end 63 of the chuck stem 62, leaves theraised or cylindrical surface of the shaft 50 and enters upon the lowsurface 51 of said cam shaft 50, the chuck 55 at the same time travelingfrom the vertical position A to the horizontal position B.:'.' As thelfillli8l'ld.=63*0f'lZl'lQiStQlll 62 ridesupon the cam surface 51 ofthe-loam shaft 50, the. coil spring;66 gradually-"urges a chuck .55inwardly' and gradually forces the flared portion 69; thereofinto thewedge shaped opening 7.0;(see Fig.- .7.) thus bringing the jaws 72firmly together and closing thesa-me on the pearl .stock 78. VVhenrthechuck 55 reaches the li'orizotal position l5, inwhich the pearlstockisto be cut bythe cutters 32, the inner end 63 of a chuck stem 62bears against the lowermost part'of the cam surface 51 of the shaft 50,and the spring 66 thereupon urges the chuck; 55 inwardly until theflaredportionsr69 of saidstemarc very tightly wedged in the opening 70 thusfurther strengthening the grip of said jaws 72 on the pearl vstock't'8clamped therein. In this horizontal position B of a chuck 55 in whichthe pearlstock 78 'is' firmly gripped bythe jaws 3 2, the cutters 32 aremoved forward into cutting-1 engagement with the-pearl stock 78, by-theaction ofthe rollerj24, cooperating with :thc 'camgroove 23 and actuatedby the shaft 16 in timed relation to the rotation of a chuck 55. aroundthe shaft 50 and in timed relation to the rotation of the disc 46,-inthe manner already described. p'lhus, the width of thecam groove 23 isslightly greater than the diameter of the pearl stock 7 8 to be cut,while the circumference of the cam member 22 is such that it makes onecomplete revolution to every quarter revolution of the disc 46, thusbringing the-cutters 32 into cutting engagement with the pearl stock 78and withdrawing the same therefrom after the cutting operation has be 1completed and again bringing the cutter 32 forwardly into cuttingposition in time to out the stock held in the next succeeding set ofchucks 55. .The range or limit of travel of the cutters 32, asdetermined by the cam groove 23, is further sub ject to adjustment byproper manipulation of the hand wheel 37 of the set screw 36 and thestud 39 carried by the underside of the upper slide 28 carrying saidcutters 32. The roller 47, carried by the disc 46, revolving in acounter clockwise direction, enters and engages a radial slot 48 in theface of the chuck holder 49, (see Fig. 1) and revolves the same in aclockwise direction around the cam shaft 50, from the point A to thepoint B, or an arc of 90 degrees, at which latter point B the roller 47drops out of a radial slot 48 and the chuck holder 49, as well as achuck 55, carried thereby remain-stationary until the disc 46 and theroller have made three quarters of a revolution. during which time thecutters 32 are moved forward into cutting engagement with and cut thepearl stock 78 in the j aws 7 2 of a chuck 55 which is now in thegripping, horizontal position B in the manner already described. Thefour radial slots 48in the face of the chuck holders 49aresoarrangedwith respect-to the four sets or rows of chucks thatwhenthe chuck azi arcro-f 90 degrees, where they remain until the.- cuttingoperation is completed, the disc in the meantimehaving "completed arevolution and the roller 47 carried thereby is again ready'to-engagethe next succeeding radial slot at the point A. It is thus seen that-thecam member-22 and the disc 46 make four complete revolutions to each onerevolution of the chuck holder 49. By the provision of a plurality ofrows or sets of chucks55 onthe chuck holder s9, and a cor-' respondingplurality-of radial slots 4-8 and by properly regulating the widthandcir cumference of the cam member 22 as well as the circumference ofthe disc 46, with respect to the number of chucks 55, one row of chucks55 will be always in the vertical position A, at which point pearl stockis fed thereinto, while another row of chucks 55 is simultaneously inthe horizontal position B, where the stock is cut, thus carrying on thefeeding and cutting operations simultaneously Without any interruptionorinterference and eiiecting a saving of time and cost. When a chuck 55is revolved from horizontal position 13, after the pearl stock has beencut, into the pendant, vertical position C, the inner end 63 of a stem62 gradually leaves the cam surface 51 of the shaft 50, and again entersupon and bears. against the raised or cylindrical surface of the shaft50, thus forcing a-chuck 55 outwardly against the force of the coilspring 66 and dislodging the tapering portions 69 from the wedge openin70, thereby gradually loosening the grip of the' jaws'72 on :the saidpearl stock 78. When a chuck 55 has reached the point C, said chuck isin its lowermost position, and the jaws 7 2 are completely open and thesevered pearl stock 78 drops out by its own weight into a chute or'otherreceptacle 90, see Fig. From the pendant vertical position C, a chuckismoved into the idle horizontal position D, from which it is againmoved into the vertical position A, to re;

ceive another supply of pearl stock 7 8 from the feed board 78, and thecycle of operations is continued;

Thus, in'the three positions A, C, and l), the inner end' 63 of the stem62 bears against the raised or cylindrical surface of the shaft 50 andmaintains a chuck in its outerm position against the force of the coilspr1. g 66, andthereby maintains the jaws 72 in their loose, ornon-gripping position. In the position B, however, that is, the positionin which it is Il8CBSS211 to support the pearl stock against thepressure of the cutters 32,'the inner end 63 of the chuck stem 62 bearsagainst the depressed or cam surface5 lof said shaft 50,

thus enabling the spring-66 to draw or urge said chuck stem 62 inwardlythus tigl'itly'to wedge the tapering portions 69 o-f' said stem into thecorresponding opening "70,. and thereby bringing the jaws 7 2 togetherand closing them upon the pearl stock 78, firmly to grip the same duringthe cutting operation. By the provision of theconc'aved or inwardly bentteeth 76 on the gripping jaws 7 2 thus substantially enclosing the pearlstock 78, see Fig.'7, and by making the spaces 77' between said teethrelatively small, the

pearl stock 78,-is notonly firmly gripped and supported against thepressure of the cutters 32, but such stock if further hacked andreinforced against such pressure, andthe danger of the pearl stockgiving way, or splitting along the natural lines of cleavage is entirelyeliminated, thus producing parallel faced button blanks of any-desiredthickness the thickness of the blanks'to be produced depending upon andbeing varied by the thickness of the spacing washers 33 intermediatesaid cutters 32.= .3

I am aware ofand fully conversant with U. S. Letters'Patent No.1,493,283, dated May 6, 1924, as granted to oneTJG: Robinson, forprocess'and apparatus for making but ton blanks from pearl stock. Mypresent invention differs materially from and I disclaim the structureshown and described in said patent upon the following grounds:

(1) My device operates by having a fixed cam shaft about which revolvesa frame carrying pearl stock; m1 V (2) My frame operates in foursequential movements timed, to wit: from'A to B; from B to G 5 from G toD; and from D to A, said frame movement operating intermittently fromstation to station,

(:1) From station A to' B my: 'pearl'stocl; is gradually gripped morefirmly'until st-ation B isreached, at which -tinie the cutting operationtakes place. I

(4)11 moving from"statidn'- B to C my pearl stock is gradually releasedand deposited as shown'atC in-Fi flnmy case the jawsininovement' fromstatioaO to'l) are idle.

(5) The above operations are performed by reason of a so-called Genevamovement.

' Thus, the patent "to-fltobinwn does 'not d sclose the rotary,intermittentcarriage of 5- it nor the {fiencvamoveincntfor opera thechips or'small particles of pearl fromlodgmg between a pair "of'cutters32 and thereby throwing the same out of their proper parallel alignmentand causing breakage thereof. The guide plate 40 thus serves the dualfunction as above explained and is an element of very great importancein the organization above described. I desire to also call attention tothe manner in which the jaws 72, as seen in Figs. 9, 10, and 11, areconstructed and collocated, it being apparent that upon the removal of ascrew 74 any jaw can be readily replaced in case, of injury, and uponthe removal of a pair of the screws 74, a pair of larger or smaller jawscan be substituted for those shown.

-h1s feature enables my novel machlne to be enabled to readily handlethe pearl blanks or stock 7 8, as seen in Fig. 12, which may be ofvarying diameters for the purpose of making buttons of variousthicknesses and slzes. This feature of my invention is one of greatimportance in practice as is evident.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable in the statement of the invention and the above descriptionand while I have in the present instance shown and described thepreferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to givesatisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the sameis susceptible of modification in various particulars without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of itsadvantages.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A button blank dividing machine comprising a carrier, means forintermittently rotating said carrier to move work holding devicesthereon and to bring them to rest successively at a plurality ofstations; work holding devices comprising spindle chucks mountedradially on the carrier and means for moving them radially of thecarrier and for causing them when so moved to open tangentially of thecarrier as they move toward one station, to so close as they move from astation and to remain closed at the work performing station. said chuckscomprising two opposed parallel jaws slotted to permit the passage of adividing tool in combination with one or more dividing tools and meansto move the same radially of the carrier toward and from the workperforming station.

2. A button blank dividing machine comprising a carrier, means forintermittently rotating said carrier to move work holding devicesthereon and to bring them to rest successively at a plurality ofstations; work holding devices comprising spindle chucks mount-edradially on the carrier and means,

for moving them radially of the carrier and for causing them when somoved to open tangentially of the carrier as they move toward onestation, to so close as they move from a station and to remain closed atthe work performing station, said chucks comprising two opposed paralleljaws slotted to permit the passage of a dividing tool in combinationwith one or more dividing tools, means to move the same radially of thecarrier toward and from the work performing station, and a slotted guideplate for said dividing tools positioned between said tools and carrier.

3. A button blank dividing machine comprising a carrier, means forintermittently rotating said carrier to move work holding devicesthereon and to bring them to rest successively at a plurality ofstations; work holding devices comprising spindle chucks mountedradially on the carrier and means for moving them radially of thecarrier and for causing them when so moved to open tangentially of thecarrier as they move toward one station, toso close as they move from astation and to remain closed at the work performing station, said chuckscomprising two opposed tensioned parallel jaws slotted to permit thepassage of a dividing tool in combination with one or more dividingtools, means to move the same radially of the carrier toward and fromthe work performing station, and a slotted guide plate for the dividingtools positioned between said tools and carrier. I

MAURICE PLATT.

